Connecticut 04/16/13 New London County: A light gray and white striped pregnant cat that bit or scratched three people on Saturday in the vicinity of Meech and Shore avenues near the Shennecossett Golf Course in Groton has tested positive for rabies. All three of the victims are being treated for exposure to the virus. Anyone who believes they might have been exposed to the cat should seek immediate medical advice. – See http://www.theday.com/article/20130416/NWS01/130419700/1047

Texas 04/15/13 Galveston and Harris counties: A bat found at Friendswood High School in Friendswood on Wednesday has tested positive for rabies. No human exposure was reported. This is the second rabid bat found at the school within the past two weeks. – See http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9066236

China 04/15/13 cdc.gov: LEVEL 1 WATCH: On April 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that influenza A (H7N9), a type of flu usually seen in birds, has been identified in a number of people in China. Cases have been confirmed in the following provinces and municipalities: Anhui, Beijing, Henan, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang. This is the first time this virus has been seen in people. Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Infection with the new virus has resulted in severe respiratory illness and, in some cases, death. Chinese health authorities are conducting investigations to learn the source of the infections with this virus and to find other cases. CDC is following this situation closely and coordinating with domestic and international partners in a number of areas. More information will be posted as it becomes available. There is no recommendation against travel to China at this time.

Author’s Note: So far, most cases have occurred in eastern China, but a few cases have now been identified in Henan Province and Beijing, both further north. As of April 17th, officials have confirmed 82 cases including 17 deaths.

Deer mouse. Common carrier of Hantavirus. Courtesy U.S. Department of Agriculture.

New York 10/13/12 timesunion.com: by Rick Karlin – The Long Island resident who contracted a suspected case of hantavirus after being bitten by a mouse in the Adirondacks in August believes the state Department of Environmental Conservation should consider trapping mice in the region to try to gauge how many rodents are carrying the illness. And “if it’s confirmed, they should really say something about it,” said Long Island’s Michael Vaughan on Friday during a telephone conference with his doctor at Stony Brook University Hospital, where he recovered from the virus last month. A geophysicist and researcher at SUNY Stony Brook, the 72-year-old was bitten by a mouse while camping in a High Peaks lean-to and became ill a month later. Vaughan and his doctor, Rekha Sivadas, cautioned that the hantavirus wasn’t officially confirmed: They’re still waiting for blood samples to come back from the federal Centers for Disease Control and state Health Department. But Sivadas said a sample they sent to a reputable private lab turned up positive for hantavirus, and Vaughan exhibited classic symptoms of the ailment.

While rare, hantavirus can become serious, attacking its victim’s respiratory system. Earlier in the summer, an outbreak of the virus in California’s Yosemite National Park infected nine people and killed three who caught it while staying in canvas-sided cabins. The virus is usually contracted by people when they inhale dust contaminated with rodent droppings. Transmission through a bite is highly unusual. – For complete article see http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Patient-Check-rodents-for-hantavirus-3944488.php

Louisiana 10/12/12 dhh.louisiana.gov: Update – State health officials today confirmed 9 new human cases of WNV. Also, one death from WNV occurred this week. This year, 312 cases and 12 deaths from the disease have been reported. There are 5 new neuroinvasive disease cases reported this week, from Calcasieu (2), Iberia (1), Lafayette (1) and Orleans (1) parishes. There are 4 new West Nile Fever cases, from Ascension (2), JeffersonDavis (1) and Livingston (1) parishes. – See http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/2667

New Jersey 10/11/12 Atlantic County: A raccoon found in the 100 block of Perry Lane in Egg HarborTownship on Oct 8th has tested positive for rabies. Two vaccinated dogs that may have been in contact with the raccoon have been placed under quarantine. – See http://www.shorenewstoday.com/snt/news/index.php/egg-harbor-twp/eht-events/30575-rabies-news.html

North Carolina 10/11/12 Mecklenburg County: Health officials issued a rabies warning on Thursday after a dog found on Stem Court in the Holly Hills neighborhood of MintHill, zip code 28227, tested positive for the virus. – See http://www.wbtv.com/story/19796300/health-officials-warn

Vermont 10/13/12 Windham County: A Bellows Falls family is reportedly in good health after unofficially adopting a family of stray cats, one of which has died from a confirmed case of rabies. According to Dr. Bob Johnson, Vermont’s state health veterinarian, a mother cat and four kittens were found in the village and taken in by a kind-hearted family a little over a month ago. After four to six weeks, however, one of the kittens became ill and lethargic and a member of the family brought it to the Rockingham Veterinary Clinic in Chester. The feral kitten’s condition worsened and it died on Thursday. The cause of death was determined to be an open wound infected with rabies. – See http://www.reformer.com/ci_21763732/officials-confirm-case-rabies-bellows-falls?source=most_viewed

National 06/29/12 cdc.gov: News Release – A total of 149 persons infected with outbreak strains of Salmonella Sandiego, Salmonella Pomona, and Salmonella Poona have been reported from 28 states. Results of the epidemiologic and environmental investigations indicate exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat) is the cause of these outbreaks.

28 ill persons have been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

64% of ill persons are children 10 years of age or younger, and 28% of ill persons are children 1 year of age or younger.

94% of ill persons with turtle exposure specifically reported exposure to small turtles (shell length less than 4 inches). Thirty-three percent of ill persons with small turtles reported purchasing the turtles from street vendors, and 22% reported purchasing small turtles from pet stores.

Small turtles are a well-known source of human Salmonella infections, especially among young children. Because of this risk, the Food and Drug Administration has banned the sale and distribution of these turtles as pets since 1975. Turtles with a shell length of less than 4 inches in size should not be purchased as pets or given as gifts.

California 07/02/12 sacbee.com: by Matt Weiser – A 63-year-old man was attacked by a mountain lion near Nevada City early Sunday while sleeping alongside a tributary of the Yuba River. The California Department of Fish and Game confirmed the unusual attack after investigating the scene and the man’s injuries. Fish and Game said the man, who is from the Bay Area, was traveling through Nevada County on a planned hiking trip when he decided to stop for the night to sleep. He laid a sleeping bag out on the ground and went to sleep. Around 1 a.m., he was attacked in the sleeping bag by a mountain lion for what he described as 90 seconds to 2 minutes. The man said the animal bit and clawed him through the sleeping bag, through a cap he was wearing and through his clothes. The lion ceased the attack, looked at him from 15 feet away for another 15 to 30 seconds, then ran into the night. The man drove himself to a hospital in Grass Valley, where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries and later released. Game wardens responded to the hospital and verified that the man suffered severe scratches and puncture wounds. They collected several articles of clothing and the sleeping bag, which were analyzed at Fish and Game’s forensics laboratory in Sacramento. At the scene, wardens found mountain lion tracks. They used trained dogs in an attempt to track the lion but were unsuccessful. However, they did find the remains of a domestic cat which had injuries consistent with a mountain lion attack. An effort to track the lion continues. Fish and Game counts this as the 15th confirmed mountain lion attack in California since 1890.

Wyoming 07/02/12 tetonvalleynews.net: by Rachael Horne – Public Information Specialist Mark Gocke with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department confirmed there was a bear attack on the Aspen Trail involving a male subject early Saturday morning June 30. He said from reports and enforcement officers sent to the scene, a young male individual likely surprised a bear in an area with heavy forest cover and low visibility. “It sounded like a surprise encounter,” said Gocke. “The bear reacted and charged.” Gocke said from reports, it sounded like the male subject attempted to climb a tree. The bear was then able to get a hold of his foot and pull him from the tree to the ground. It was believed the bear then took off and hasn’t been seen again. Gocke said it was believed to be a black bear based on hair found at the scene and tracks. He said it looked like a bear had been digging and rolling rocks near the scene of the incident. “It was doing what bears do,” said Gocke. “He was able to spook it and the bear charged, which is a normal reaction for a bear at close range.” Gocke said they have no plans to trap the bear. Last week, two bears believed to have been habituated to human food in Teton Canyon were euthanized. Captain Tripp Wilson from the Teton County Wyoming Sheriff’s office said his officers assisted in a search for a missing minor, but said he could not make a statement on the events because it was being handled by the Caribou-Targhee National Forest Service District. Forest service officials also confirmed there was an incident, but were not yet releasing information. Signs have been posted in the area warning visitors of bear activity, but there have been no trail closures.

Washington 06/30/12 spokesman.com: by Daniel Person – A wolf killed one sheep and injured two others on a small Nine Mile Falls ranch earlier this month, the state’s wildlife agency said Friday, marking the first wolf attack on livestock in Spokane County since at least the early 1950s. Steve Pozzanghera, eastern region director for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said Friday two brothers woke up June 16 to see their flock of about 15 sheep in the pasture and away from the pen area where they normally gather in the morning. The men, who are not identified in the incident report, rode four-wheelers out to the flock, where they said they saw a lone wolf chasing one of the sheep. The animal then ran away. A subsequent investigation by the Fish and Wildlife Department determined that the predator was a gray wolf, Pozzanghera said. Helping confirm that it was a wolf kill was the severity of the wounds – wolves have “incredible jaw strength” – and tracks found in the area, he said. “You’re not talking about a dog-size track,” Pozzanghera said. The incident report lists the location of the attack as 11000 N. Pinebluff Road. The department announced that it had confirmed the predation as a wolf kill on Friday. – For complete article see http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/jun/30/wolf-kills-one-sheep-injures-two-others-in/

Wisconsin 07/02/12 Wausau, Marathon County: The Marathon County Health Department is requesting help from the public in the search for a dog who bit a woman at Sunny Vale Park Sunday. The dog is a 6- or 7-year-old black lab mix and is not wearing a collar. The department needs to verify the dog’s vaccination status to prevent the woman from having to endure rabies shots. If you have information about this dog or know who owns it, contact the Marathon County Health Department at 715-261-1908, the Marathon County Dispatch at 715-849-7785 or the Humane Society at 715-845-2810.

Global 06/06/12 nih.gov: News Release – A test being developed by National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists to quickly and accurately diagnose fatal brain diseases performed better than existing tests in a recent study of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD). Prion diseases, also known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, are difficult to diagnose, untreatable, and ultimately fatal. Normally, prion protein molecules exist harmlessly in every mammal, but for reasons not fully understood, these molecules can develop abnormalities and gather in clusters. Scientists have associated the accumulation of these clusters with tissue damage that leaves microscopic sponge-like holes in the brain. Prion diseases include sCJD and variant CJD in people; scrapie in sheep; chronic wasting disease in deer, elk, and moose; and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, in cattle. Because animals and people can be infected for years before clinical signs or symptoms appear, NIH scientists are developing a rapid and sensitive screening tool to detect prion diseases. Such a test would help prevent the spread of prion diseases among and between species. Of particular concern is the known transmission of variant CJD via blood transfusions. – For further details see http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/prion/Pages/diagnostics.aspx

New Jersey 06/06/12 nj.com: A 3-year-old horse from Burlington County was euthanized on May 27 after testing positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), a serious, mosquito-borne illness in horses. “It is very early in the season to see Eastern Equine Encephalitis so horse owners need to be vigilant in vaccinating their animals against diseases spread by mosquitoes,” said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. “We hope this incident will raise awareness about the need to protect our official state animal from this and other harmful diseases, especially since June is the Month of the Horse in our state.” EEE is preventable by vaccination, and effective equine vaccines for EEE and West Nile Virus, another mosquito-borne disease, are available commercially, the Department of Agriculture said. – For complete article see http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2012/06/burlington_county_horse_with_e.html

Texas 06/06/12 cbs19.tv: Mosquitoes have tested positive for the West Nile virus in three area counties, according to the Texas Health Department. They were found in Fort Bend, Brazoria and Montgomery counties. The infected mosquitoes in Montgomery County were found in The Woodlands. Spraying is already under way on storm drains and streets in the areas where they turned up. No details have been released yet on the location of positive tests in Fort Bend and Brazoria counties.

Ontario 06/05/12 Perth, Lanark County: The Perth District Health Unit is looking for a dog involved in a biting incident at Bedford Public School last week. The dog is described as a brown-and-white spaniel with a red collar. A young couple was playing ball with the dog in the schoolyard at the time of the incident, which happened around 8 p.m. on May 31. The health Unit is trying to determine if the dog has up-to-date rabies shots. If the dog is not found, the person who was bitten may need to receive rabies shots. Anyone who has seen a dog fitting this description should contact the health unit at 271-7600, ext. 252 or after hours at 1-800-431-2054.

North Dakota 05/17/12 jamestownsun.com: The Game and Fish Department is expanding a baiting ban in south central North Dakota where three cases of chronic wasting disease in deer have been documented.

The ban had applied to hunting unit 3F2, where all of the CWD cases have been documented in the past four years. Game and Fish Wildlife Veterinarian Dan Grove says the ban this year will be extended into the four units surrounding 3F2. Chronic wasting is a fatal disease in members of the deer family. North Dakota had been somewhat of an island when it came to CWD until the first case in 2009. The second case was in 2010 and the third case was last year. Other hunting restrictions are in effect in unit 3F2. More information can be found at http://www.gf.nd.gov

Oregon 05/17/12 thenewstribune.com: Two weeks after the first, a second confirmed wolf kill of livestock has been reported in Umatilla County. The attack occurred sometime Friday or Saturday and killed a ram and injured three other rams on private land between Wildhorse and Pine Creek roads southeast of Weston. One of the injured sheep later had to be euthanized, said Meg Kenagy, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman. The location was within 7-8 miles of the first wolf attack, which occurred May 2. The earlier attack killed two ewes and two lambs with one additional lamb reported missing and believed killed. Kenagy said investigators can’t say for sure whether the most recent attack was the work of one wolf or more than one. Only one wolf was believed to have involved in the earlier attack. As with the earlier attack, the kill took place in an area not known to be frequented by one of Oregon’s four known wolf packs. Two wolves were discovered last August in the northern Mount Emily wildlife management unit, but are not part of any known pack. “We are actively trying to capture and radio collar the wolves,” Kenagy said today. The depredation report on the incident is expected to be posted on the ODFW Web site today, she said.

The two dead sheep bring the number of livestock animals killed by wolves in Oregon to 59 since 2009. Prior to the Umatilla County attacks, the last confirmed wolf kill of livestock in Oregon occurred March 8 in Wallowa County, which was the only area that had confirmed or probable livestock losses due to wolves. In an interview earlier this month, Sue Miller, one of the owners of the sheep killed in the May 2 attack, said that along with wolves, ranchers have to deal with bears and cougars as well. Although livestock owners are compensated for losses due to wolves, the amount doesn’t begin to cover what an animal would have been worth had it grown to full size and sold at market. “I hope that the people who say ’Bring back the wolves,’ could come up here and see their animals killed,” she said.

The deer fly is a carrier of tularemia.

Wyoming 05/16/12 k2radio.com: by Karen Snyder – Following a possible Tularemia diagnoses in a local dog, Natrona County health officials are encouraging folks to take precautions. “What we wanted to do here at the health department was to take this opportunity to remind folks that Tularemia is here. It’s always been with us and now, as we start moving out to outdoor activities, people should be aware that there is a risk out there.” Health Department Director, Robert Harrington, says Tularemia is usually contracted through a tick or biting fly. It’s carried in rabbits, muskrats and beavers. It’s transmitted to humans via contact with the body fluid of an infected animal. – See http://k2radio.com/possible-tularemia-case-triggers-health-dept-warning/

Wisconsin 05/16/12 Eau Claire County: The Eau Claire City-County Health Department is looking for a dog that bit a man Monday at about 7:30 p.m. on Langedell Road in Eau Claire County, near the Dunn County line. The dog is described as a Shih Tzu with a darker moustache on the face, tan in color, long hair, well-groomed and healthy and appeared to be full-grown. The dog did not have a collar or tags and it ran west on Langedell Road. The health and rabies status of the dog needs to be determined. The owner of this dog, or anyone with information about this dog, is encouraged to call the Eau Claire Communications Center at 715-839-4972.

Oregon 05/03/12 oregon.gov: News Release – A May 2 investigation by ODFW confirmed that four penned sheep (two ewes, two lambs) were killed by a wolf on private land east of Weston, Ore. in northern Umatilla County. One additional lamb is missing and believed to have been killed by the wolf. The incident occurred in an area not known to be frequented by one of Oregon’s known wolf packs (Imnaha, Wenaha, Walla Walla, Snake River) but by two wolves discovered last August in the northern Mt Emily wildlife management unit. Based on evidence at the scene, wildlife biologists believe a single wolf was involved in the depredation. ODFW immediately helped the landowner install electrified fladry, a type of fencing that can deter wolves, around the sheep pens. ODFW is also working to capture and radio-collar the wolf.

Washington 05/03/12 bellinghamherald.com: by Kristi Pihl – The constant barking of his neighbor’s dogs early Wednesday alerted James Ford that something wasn’t right. What he saw in the Kennewick backyard on the 3200 block of West Third Place was a nearly 120-pound cougar high in a tree. About an hour later, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife officer shot and killed the young mountain lion after officials determined there was no other safe way to remove the wild animal from the dense residential area. The Kennewick Police Department received its first call about the big cat at 1 a.m. Wednesday. There were two other sightings within a half-mile of where it eventually was cornered about 9 a.m., said Sgt. Mike Jewell with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Ford said he already had gotten a heads up from his neighbor David Carlson, who spotted the cougar at 4:20 a.m. as he left for work at ConAgra Foods. At first, he thought it was a large dog. Carlson called the police, then notified Ford and other neighbors to be on the lookout. But it wasn’t until closer to 9 a.m. that Ford heard the dogs and saw the cougar about 25 feet up in a tree.

Massachusetts 05/03/12 gazettenet.com: by Rebecca Everett – A golden retriever that was attacked by a bear on Lawn Avenue Wednesday night was treated for puncture wounds but is expected to recover, police said. The 9-year-old dog was outside the home about 8:30 p.m. when a mother bear and two cubs came in the yard, said Lt. Michael Patenaude. The dog was apparently barking at one of the cubs when the bear attacked it, he said. The dog was taken to the vet and received stitches for three puncture wounds on its face and neck, he said. “We called the Environmental Police to investigate, but the bears had apparently left the scene before they got there,” Patenaude said. He said bear attacks on domestic animals are unusual. “But anytime you get a mother bear protecting her cubs, that can be dangerous,” he said.

California 05/03/12 kcra.com: A crow found in the Tahoe Park area of Sacramento tested positive for the West Nile virus, Sacramento County officials said Wednesday. The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District said it is the second bird of the 2012 season to test positive for the disease. “With the very warm temperatures we’ve seen recently, West Nile virus is starting to amplify in our region,” said David Brown, district manager. Brown added that the West Nile discovery is a reminder people need to protect themselves against mosquitoes and the diseases that are transmitted. In 2011, there were nine deaths and 158 human West Nile virus cases reported in California.

Puerto Rico 05/02/12 usnews.com: The costs of treating and coping with dengue fever in Puerto Rico total nearly $38 million a year, a new study finds. It also said that every $1 spent on surveillance and prevention of the mosquito-borne disease could save $5 in illness-related costs. Households pay nearly half the costs of the disease, followed by government (24 percent), insurance companies (22 percent) and employers (7 percent), according to researchers from Brandeis University’s Schneider Institutes for Health Policy in Waltham, Mass. The study appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Given that the U.S. government covers 62 percent of Puerto Rico’s public health expenses, “sound investments related to dengue would benefit not only residents of Puerto Rico but all taxpayers throughout the United States,” the researchers said in a journal news release.

They focused on Puerto Rico because it’s an area within the United States with substantial numbers of dengue fever. In 2010, more than 22,000 cases of dengue fever were reported, which works out to an incidence rate of 57 cases per 10,000 people. Because treatment is readily available, deaths from dengue fever in Puerto Rico average about 16 per year. “People generally think of dengue as a disease of poor countries; the fact that we found it to be a major burden in a U.S. territory — and because it recently has cropped up on the U.S. mainland — is a reminder that mosquito-borne illnesses can present an equal opportunity threat,” study co-author Donald Shepard said in the news release. Dengue fever, which broke out in the Florida Keys in 2010, currently threatens nearly 3 billion people worldwide. Public health experts warn that the spread of dengue fever could prove more costly and cause more illness than malaria. Symptoms in dengue include high fever plus at least two of the following: severe headache, eye pain, joint pain, muscle or bone pain, rash, mild bleeding and low white blood cell count, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, dengue fever infects 100 million to 200 million people each year and causes 20,000 deaths, according to the release. The study received funding from vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur, which is developing a dengue vaccine, the release disclosed.

Texas 02/23/12 yourhoustonnews.com: by Stefanie Thomas – Two area families experienced an all-too-close, and unwanted, encounter with wildlife on the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 20, when two deer crashed through windows at two separate residences on Village Grove Dr. in the Atascocita Forest subdivision. In both cases, the injured and panicked animals had to be shot and killed by law enforcement. “A lady called and said she had a deer in her house, and that it was tearing up the house,” said Lt. David Escobar with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office, adding the homeowner was there when the incident happened and called 911. “The deer had crashed through a back window. There was a big mess in the house.” Escobar said the deer, which was eventually corralled inside a bathroom, had sustained serious injuries when crashing through the glass. “We called Texas Parks & Wildlife, and the game warden in charge gave us authorization to put the deer down.”

As if the incident hadn’t already been strange enough, deputies received a second call while still dealing with the mess at the first home. “We had another call that there was a deer inside the next-door neighbor’s house. This deer had broken through a front window,” Escobar said. “It was strange, for two deer to bust into a house at the same time. This second deer was bleeding excessively as well, like the first one.” Nancy Terrell and her husband were lunching at a local restaurant shortly before 3 p.m. that day, when a call from a neighbor interrupted their outing. “Our neighbor called and said there was a deer in our house,” she said. “The police asked for permission to go inside our house – the deer was just tearing up things. But they ended up not even going inside. They put a gun at the broken window, shot the deer, killed it right on the floor between my dining and living room. If they had tried to come in an control it…you can’t control a wild animal like that.” Terrell said she came home to knocked-down furniture and a large pool of blood on her living room carpet. “The deer had knocked my tables down, broke two of them, tried to get out of the family room,” she said. “There was blood everywhere. The carpet will have to come out.”

Major William Skeen with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Law Enforcement Division Region 4 said reports of deer busting into buildings are more common than one would think. “It happens just about every year somewhere around here, normally in the fall, when the male deer start to go into rut,” he said. “What happens is that they see their reflection in the window and think it’s another buck. Male deer hit their horns, and when they charge against the glass, they break into the house. If the deer is not killed instantly by the glass, there usually ends up being quite a mess.”

In the Atascocita incidents, where one deer was said to be a buck and the other a doe, Skeen said the doe may have been chased by the buck, or perhaps both animals could have been pursued by a predator, like a coyote for example. Escobar said the supervisor at the scene, Cpl. Robert Goree, an avid hunter, reported that both deer appeared young and healthy. They were not fully mature and weighed just short of 100 pounds each. Skeen added that diseases like rabies are not a concern in deer and the likelihood of the animals being sick was very slim. Terrell said that although she has seen deer along nearby Atascocita Rd. and Woodland Hills in the past, those sightings were usually at night. Escobar said that while some wooded patches remain in the neighborhood, Atascocita Forest is one of the oldest subdivisions in the area and is surrounded by commercial developments. And although reports of deer crashing through windows are not unheard of, these incidents are more likely to occur in heavily wooded areas such as Kingwood and Eagle Springs, he said.

Meanwhile, Terrell was so shaken up by the incident that she and her husband are considering a move, leaving their home of more than 30 years. “I don’t know if I want to stay here now,” she said. “I hate to move, but it made me feel very strange to come home to a dead deer in my living room. I’m still upset.”

New Mexico 02/24/12 Carlsbad, Eddy County: A resident in the Center and Violet streets area had to put down several of her animals, including several dogs and mouflon sheep, after they were attacked and bitten by a fox that tested positive for rabies. See http://www.currentargus.com/ci_20041128

Jerry Genesio

Author of "UNSEEN HAZARDS That Threaten Hunters, Campers, and Hikers: What you should know about pathogens commonly found in wildlife."

This is where wildlife and healthcare professionals, hunters, campers, hikers, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts will find interesting information about natural unseen hazards that place them at risk. As my book focused exclusively on Rabies, Tetanus (Lockjaw), Tularemia (Rabbit Fever), Brucellosis (Undulant Fever), Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Borrelia (Lyme Disease), posts regarding these six diseases will be limited to more recent developments and items of interest that were not included or were not available when the book was published in June of 2009. Topics will also include Chronic Wasting Disease, West Nile Virus, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, and other diseases of particular interest to those who work and play in the great American outdoors.

Don’t Be Afraid – Be Aware!

The Natural Unseen Hazards blog is available to all free of charge and is maintained as a public service.

If you have questions related to pathogens commonly found in wildlife, e.g. the disease caused by a specific pathogen, hosts, vectors, symptoms, treatment, territorial range, etc., please comment here or e-mail to jerrygenesio@gmail.com and I will attempt to provide answers.

"Chance favors the prepared mind."
Louis Pasteur

Unless otherwise noted, images have been provided by the CDC Public Health Image Library, Wikimedia Commons, the National Park Service or other government agencies, Bing.com, and/or Google.com.

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."
Marie Curie

"It's better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret."
Jackie Joyner Kersee